Clerk Race Highlights Small Differences
CANTON — The Democratic and Republican candidates for St. Lawrence County clerk talk the same game.
Both County Clerk Gavin M. Regan, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and Republican Mary Lou Rupp, who was the acting clerk after Patricia A. Ritchie became a state senator, want to build on the downstate car dealers business, maintain and expand customer service, and develop a veterans identification card that would entitle them to discounts at area businesses.
The clerk's office is about making the experience at the motor vehicle office as painless as possible and about the proper handling of important documents, such as passports, pistol permits, legal papers, mortgages and deeds.
"We just want to make sure when they come in, they get what they're looking for and leave happy," Mr. Regan said.
In recent years, the clerk's office has been a revenue maker for the county, from the downstate dealers business.
"I think that has to be the main focus because it brings in $1.5 million a year," Mrs. Rupp said. "I think it's important we maintain a 24-hour turnaround time."
Mrs. Rupp wants to tweak the hours at the Ogdensburg satellite office, perhaps bringing over a third person, so the office can be open during lunch and handle some of the dealer business.
Mr. Regan has been stumping for new business and bringing back into the fold some of the dealers that had stopped using the county. To spread the workload, he intends to send new dealers to the satellites so not all of the work is handled in Canton.
Revenue is up every month compared with last year since he took office, Mr. Regan said.
While the dollar amount coming into the county is up, the percentages are not as high as in years past, Mrs. Rupp said. Revenue is up 15 percent over last year but was 43 percent higher last year than the previous year. Over a four-year period, the average annual percentage increase in revenue was 35 percent, she said.
Like Mr. Regan, Mrs. Rupp said she will work to attract more dealers to have their work processed by St. Lawrence County.
Mr. Regan graduated from Potsdam Central School in 1980 and has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Norwich University. He worked for ING as a registered representative since 1993.
He formerly served on the executive committee for county Democrats. He is a former president of the Potsdam Junior Hockey Association and was general manager for USA Hockey's Women's 2006 Olympic team. He is on the board of USA Hockey.
Mr. Regan's wife, Jeri R., is a registered nurse and major in the Army stationed in California. Their three children are Harley S., Kiona S. and Carson G., all attending Potsdam Central School.
Mrs. Rupp, a Heuvelton native, is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam. She and her husband, William J., owned five Jreck Subs franchises and operated Simply Sandwiches in Ogdensburg from 1993 until 2006.
She started working at the DMV in 2003 and become the first deputy in 2008.
She and her husband have two daughters, Abbie C., Copenhagen, and Kelsie E., a student at Le Moyne College, Syracuse. Mr. Rupp is transportation coordinator at Heuvelton Central School and is town of Oswegatchie justice.
